San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford, who represents the 2nd District, is being challenged by a political newcomer in the June 3 primary — a former crime scene investigator from Lake Arrowhead unhappy with a newly adopted sober living home ordinance.

The 2nd District includes Rancho Cucamonga, parts of Fontana and the mountain communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs.

Rutherford, who is also the chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, served on the Fontana City Council for 10 years before being elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2010. She formed an ethics committee and began pushing for measures that included elimination of supervisor slush funds, limiting campaign contributions, and reducing compensation for elected officials.

She said she has established a track record during her four years as supervisor for getting things done and implementing serious governmental reforms.

Rutherford pushed for the county contracting with the state Fair Political Practices Commission to serve as the government watchdog of San Bernardino County — to ensure its elected officials are complying with the Political Reform Act.

Rutherford said she has also strived to maintain core services to citizens during tough economic times.

“I will continue those efforts into my second term,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford touts other major accomplishments of the county since taking office including the completion of the expanded High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, increased repairs and rehabilitation to roads, and implementation of a long-term strategic plan — the Countywide Vision.

If elected to a second term, Rutherford said she will continue working with county staff on the budget and increasing residents self sufficiency.

“The past three years we have begun to re-establish capital reserve programs. We now need to focus on performance measures and outcomes and really start to dig in on the goal of moving people toward the goal of self sufficiency,” Rutherford said. “We cannot be content with measuring the number of people receiving welfare and food stamps. We have to figure out how we move people off government programs and how to make them productive and self sufficient. That should be the goal.”

Randolph Beasley, a forensic consultant and former crime scene investigator, said he decided to run for supervisor after the board approved an ordinance in February allowing sober living homes in residential neighborhoods.

“In my opinion, the ordinance was not thoroughly investigated by the board, and specifically my opponent, who had heard of this problem for over two years, allowed the problem to continue,” Beasley said.

Rutherford was the one who brought the issue before the board after Lake Arrowhead residents complained about an influx of sober living homes in their community. They said they were ruining the quality of life there, and crime, especially burglaries, had skyrocketed since they started moving in.

“Burglaries are up 46 percent. It’s becoming an unsafe place to live,” Beasley said.

The Board of Supervisors placed a 2-year moratorium on new sober living homes in the county while staff researched the law and attempted to draft an ordinance that was palatable to Lake Arrowhead residents.

It didn’t work out.

The ordinance allows for a maximum of two sober living homes, housing six or fewer people per residential block. Under federal and state law, they are not required to be licensed if they are housing individuals recovering from drug or alcohol abuse or are physically disabled, but the facilities must be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In addition, the ordinance mandates that sober living homes operate under a “good neighbor” policy relative to noise and operation. Registered sex offenders and individuals convicted of manufacturing or selling drugs are banned from such facilities.

Beasley said his first order of business, if elected, will be to amend that ordinance.

Rutherford said in February the county’s hands were tied on the sober living home issue due to state and federal laws requiring local government to make accommodations for them.

Beasley said he would lower the tax burden for small businesses, work to attract good paying employers to the county and provide a higher level of policing services to residents.

Joe Nelson is an award-winning investigative reporter who has worked for The Sun since November 1999. He started as a crime reporter and went on to cover a variety of beats including courts and the cities of Colton, Highland and Grand Terrace. He has covered San Bernardino County since 2009. Nelson is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. In 2014, he completed a fellowship at Loyola Law School's Journalist Law School program.

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